I see alot of cats because I spend alot of time at a shelter. It is interesting that there are so many shapes and sizes.

One thing that I find interesting about my cats is comparing my two little domestic short haired, female, black cats. Lily looks bigger. She has long legs, a biggish head, and a fluffy coat. Tonya has shorter legs, a small head, and a coat as smooth, sleek, and shiny as a seal. But Lily weighs nearly half a pound less than Tonya's 8 lbs. You would never think that by looking at them.

I measured Ritz from her face to the beginning (not end) of her tail about six months ago. I forget now what the length was, I think it was around 15 inches.
I do know her urine reaches 17 inches off the ground. She often pees standing up and I had to find a tall enough plastic container for obvious reasons

The only type of measurements I've ever heard of people taking with cats was front paws to back paws with the cat stretched out fully, which is done with Maine Coons. I think this is also how they measure for the "world record" type stuff.

My Neko is bigger than most females... TRYING to measure her I read 19-20 inches long (nose to bottom) She weighed 12lbs in Aug and we've cut back on her kibble since then; however, vet said she only needed to lose 1lb or stay the same but no more gain.

I think Monet is bigger than most cats (about 13" at the shoulders and about ~19" from nose to butt).

Since I never see other cats, or at least long enough to compare sizes, I am curious to how big Monet is compared to average cats around here!

Wikipedia says 9" is average for height of cat, but doesn't say from shoulders or not.

Well, after chasing cats all over the house with a tape measure I can tell you any numbers I got are very approximate. I actually ended up measuring the floor tiles where Cali was laying to get her length.

I would think that 9" is smaller than average. My smallest cat weighs in at 6# and is 10" at the shoulder. She's about 15" from nose to the base of her tail. My largest cat is about 11# and is 14" at the shoulder and 24" from nose to the base of her tail. Then add another 13-14" of tail and you have one long cat.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Klusner

From shoulders to butt 19 to 22 is perfect.Moore than 22 considers fatness among cats.

I don't see how the length of a cat has anything to do with how fat it is. My 11# cat is 24" inches long and definitely not fat. If anything, she's slightly underweight for her length and height.

My Maine Coon, Gossamer, measures 26" from tip of nose to base of tail. Add another 16" for his tail for a total of 42". He weighs 19 lbs. It's easy to measure with a cloth measuring tape used in sewing. Just catch them whilst they are resting on their side.